


The second wave

by fresh_snow



Series: The second wave [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Blood and Injury, Multi, Secrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-05
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-03-28 23:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3874693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fresh_snow/pseuds/fresh_snow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Destiny reunites Eren and Levi, in their second chance of life. But a new danger has risen and Eren and his squad are trying their hardest to keep Levi and the other reincarnated ouf of the fight .  /><br/>The heroes of once have to rise again in order to protect humanity and those they love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stay with me

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first Snk fanfiction, although I've been a fan for quite a long time. But some things take time, I guess.  
> Also, English is not my first language. So if you see something absolutely unacceptable, be my sensei.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy it.

Ever had this feeling of foreboding? Knowing that something bad would happen, if and when you decide to let your feet touch the cold bedroom floor? Kind of a final destination feeling, waiting for the explosions and gorey deaths to happen. Reminiscensing about the feeling he'd had all day, Eren slowly drove through the heavy rain.  
He hated rain like this. It made him remember. He'd rather not.  
So he occupied his mind with bloody movie deaths and hilarious scripting.  
The roar of a motorbike jerked him out of his thoughts. He saw it speed past him. Much too fast.  
"Is that guy crazy? He's gonna get himself killed" Eren mumbled to himself.  
He heard a screaking sound as if someone was strangling a cat and after that a loud crash.  
Eren blinked into the rain. "Seriously?"  
He sped up, hoping he had misheard or that his mind was playing games with him, having been thinking about mass accidents the whole time.  
But then he saw the body lying on the street, further down a motorbike was crashed against the guardrail.  
Eren's heart hammered in his chest, as he braked his car hard. Fumbling for his phone and the safety belt, he got out of the car as fast as he could and started running towards the biker lying on the street. His left hand was dialling 911, while his mind tried to recall first aid instructions.  
'Calm down, calm down. First. Abc. Air, breathing, circulation,' he repeated mentally, pressing his phone against his ear.  
"This is 911, please state your emergency," a soft female voice spoke into his ear. "Hi, this is Alan Hunter speaking. I just witnessed a motorbike accident. The biker lost control over his bike in a bend. I'm on the country road, just north of Edminton, close to the McGregory farm," he explained heavily breathing into his phone.  
He kneeled down next to the head of the biker. He had an open thigh fracture, but that was the only obvious wound.  
"Okay Alan, I need you to answer me, some more questions. Is the victim concious?"  
He looked back up at the head. Moving his fingers to open the visor.  
"Sir, are you…..," he started speaking while sliding it open. He met eyes the color of winter storm clouds, gray and deep. And oh so familiar. His heart went from hammering to thundering in two seconds, a numbness started spreading in his fingers, while his ears were afflicted with a loud humming sound. He still heard the emergency lady faintly, but far louder was his internal scream.  
"No, please don't. Not like that. That's not fair. Not again." His sight became blurry, his gaze still fixed on those eyes. He had seen the recognition in them, slightly widening at his sight.  
"L-Levi." Life's a bitch. She gives and she takes. Sometimes all wrapped up in one fucked up present, he heard his corporal's voice say in his mind. In a different life. A different world. It had rained back then too, when he'd lost him the first time. Heavy rain, stealing your sight and putting a deadly blanket around you. He felt the old and the new pain mixed together, a tight ball of agony, trying to consume him. Here and now.  
Something brushed his cheek. Pinched it. Hard.  
"Ow," he murmured.  
"Oi, brat." Had he really heard that deep voice or had it occured in his head?  
"You look like you're shitting your pants."  
He became aware of Levi's hand on his cheek, his thumb and forefinger pinching it but then releasing it and instead slowly caressing it, in a soothing notion.  
'Right, you freaking idiot. He's still here. You havent lost him yet. It's not the same as back then. Its different,' Eren scolded himself.  
A soft tremor ran through his body. Determination set in. He grabbed Levis hand, intertwining their fingers, squeezing them softly.  
"Ma'am? He's concious, speaking and can move his right arm," he said into his phone.  
"Good. What's his approximate age?"  
"Early thirties." He felt a soft squeeze of his hand. Levi raised one of his eyebrows.  
"Any visual injuries?"  
"An open wound on the left thigh, I can see the bone. He's loosing blood there, but I can't say how much."  
"Do you have any pain, feel sick or numb?," he asked Levi.  
"Fucking breathing is hard," Levi took a pause, inhaling slowly. "And my head hurts like shit."  
Eren smiled. Levi hadn't changed in using swearwords like they were mints. He relayed the info to the emergency operator.  
She told him, that the ambulance was dispatched and he'd had to hold out for less than 15 minutes, but that he needed to take care of the fracture until then. It needed immediate attention.  
She ordered him to get his first aid kit out of the car and also inquired if he had secured the accident site. Fuck no, he'd had to do that. Also his car was kinda parked in the middle of the street. Dammit.  
"Ok, I'll be back in a few minutes. You understand?" he questioned Levi.  
"Yeah, kid." Eren imagined the scowl he couldn't see. He pushed back onto his legs, letting go of Levi's hand. He started running. And almost face planted.  
"Aargh, my legs fell asleep. Come on, seriously?, " he cursed under his breath. He got into his car, started it and pulled to the side.  
After putting warning signs up, he ran back to Levi, dragging a thermal blanket and a first aid kit along.  
"I'm ba….", the words got stuck in his throat. Levi was sitting upright, his helmet in his right hand.  
"You can't move! Lie back!," Eren yelled. Levi shot him an annoyed look and then as if on commando leaned to his right and vomited. "Fuck!", Eren expressed. Levi slowly moved back down, wiping his mouth. Eren jumped in to help him, putting his hands on Levi's back and neck.  
"I've got a concussion for sure. Is my head split open? Would explain that fucking awful headache," Levi asked. His voice sounded raspy. His face was even paler than normally. Well, Eren didn't really knew his normal in this life, but in their old life, this would have been a shade of sickly pale.  
"I can't see any blood or anything." Eren's fingers gently brushed the wet raven hair.  
"Hrmph."  
He relayed once again Levi's status to the emergency lady, adding the vomiting.  
After that Eren pulled the thermal blanket over Levi. He needed to keep him warm and his open thigh injury as dry as possible. Although there really was no hope in that point. The kit needed to be open underneath the blanket as well, to keep everything dry. Thankfully Levi was still short of stature and Eren would have enough extra space under the blanket to work with.  
Carefully he opened sterile gaze and placed it on the injury. Slowly a few red dots appeared on the white cloth. But it didn't get soaked, so at least the artery wasn't damaged. Everything would be alright. The ambulance would be here in a few seconds and they would take care of Levi.  
Dark thoughts swirled through his mind, reminding him, that this changed nothing. Even if he had found him. And he knew that, but right now he had to concentrate on keeping Levi safe.  
"Did you see the ocean?" Levi suddenly asked.  
"Eh, y-yeah." He answered startled. "Armin and I saw it together. Our parents took us, when we were like three or four. Armin started crying back then and then I cried too, cause he was and our parents were at loss what was wrong with us". Eren smiled, playing with Levi's hand and fingers, he'd taken subconsciously. "Two snot-nosed kids standing in front of this immense glittering swimming pool, crying their hearts out as if someone had taken away all of their happiness. But it was the absolute opposite. We had gained all of the happiness possible in just an instant. We remembered somehow. We remembered that a wish, spreading from a different life in this new one, had come true. And it made us so happy, it hurt." Smiling, he looked back at Levi. His face looked expressionless even now with the rain pouring down on it, but Eren saw the softness in his eyes and the soft wrinkles around them. Gazing into Levi's eyes had still the same effect on Eren. It elated him somehow, making him giddy and super aware about everything, but also gave him comfort and the crazy feeling of security. Feeling warm and fuzzy and on sugar in some way.  
Suddenly Levi's gaze changed, becoming unfocused.  
"Eren…" Levi took a few shallow breaths, his eyes fluttering shut.  
Dread filled him. "Levi?"  
His hand rushed to Levi's throat. His fingers frantically searched for a pulse. He couldn't find one. His mouth got dry. Panic was pulling at his concious, trying to drag him under.  
"Alan, Alan, what is wrong?" The emergency lady asked him.  
"I don't know, he just stopped talking and fell unconscious and I can't find a pulse and oh no please don't die, don't die, don't leave me, not now. We've just found each other." He murmured those last sentences, tears mixing with rain, running down his cheeks.  
"Alan, I need you to stay calm. The ambulance is close. Check again for a pulse and for his breathing. I need you to do this."  
His fingers pressed again against Levis throat. Eren breathed in, trying to follow her instructions. He waited. There was a soft beat. Too slow to be good. He was opening his mouth to answer her, as it stopped.  
"It stopped," he whispered unbelieving.  
"Okay Alan, I need you to start CPR, right away. Do you know how to do this? I will lead you through it. First you'll...... ".  
Eren set his phone on the street. Lying his right hand on Levi's breast he started counting. After finding the right position, he laid his other hand on top of it. He started to pump and count.  
" 1,2,3,4…."He remembered, the first time he saw his corporal as a kid. Riding his horse, he had been on his way outside of the wall with his fellow survey corps members. Humanities strongest. His idol.  
"...7,8,9…" The first time, he met the corporal. In a cellar, with himself chained to the wall. Cold steel eyes regarding him as a specimen. As a monster. Or so he thought.  
"…12,13,14…" The first day at the former HQ castle of the survey corps and Levi's obsession with cleaning. Even in his cleaning clothes he had still intimidated him. But he had also looked gorgeous.  
Eren stopped, leaned forward, pinched Levi's nose and breathed twice into his mouth, before reassuming the compression.  
His lips were cold, like the first time they'd kissed.  
"1,2,3…." The first time Levi had protected him, had been in a trial deciding his life or death. He kicked the shit out of him, degrading him with his words. But they had just been that. Meaningless words.  
"…6,7,8…" The first time they'd fought together. Eren had acted hot-headed again and almost got himself killed in the process. He got chewed out and earned harsh words, but he had seen the care in Levi's eyes.  
"…10,11,12…" The first time Levi had complimented him, was for his tea making abilities. Petra had been his teacher.  
"…14,15.." The first time Hange had experimented on him. The spoon accident that followed and how Levi had to protect him from his own squad. And also made them understand Eren's situation. His feelings.  
He leaned down again, breathing fresh cold air into Levi. As cold as the air that had engulfed them, when Eren told his corporal that he wanted to stay at his side, forever.  
"1,2…" Suddenly there were hands pushing him aside, taking over. Someone talked to him, shaking him back into reality. The ambulance had arrived.  
There were three of them. The first two were giving their whole attention to Levi. The third one dragged him away, so the other two could work, asking him questions, Eren registered.  
He tried to answer them, as best as possible, but his head worked slow. Exhaustion took over and he had to sit down. He was soaked through. But it didn't matter. Just one thing mattered.  
"Alright," one of them suddenly said. "We've got a pulse. He's breathing steadily. Lets pack him in."  
Eren couldn't help the sob escaping him. "Please, just stay alive now. You're humanities strongest, remember?," he murmured.  
They packed Levi on a gurney, pushing it into the van.  
"You need to get out of the rain. You hear me?" The medic from before asked. "Do you know the guy?"  
"Yes. No. Somehow," Eren answered.  
The guy raised an eyebrow, but continued. "We're bringing him to the Rose County Hospital. He definetly overdid it this time and Erwin won't be happy, but they'll try everything they can, to get him through. You hear me?"  
"Y-yes." Eren just stuttered. Erwin's name and the familiarity the guy had spoken about Levi had taken him a back.  
"Good." He turned around and jogged back to the van and jumped into the driving seat, starting it. After checking with the guys in the back, he drove off.  
Eren still sitting on the street, heavy rain pouring down on him, just stared after them.


	2. Miserable At Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the accident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the 2nd chapter. Enjoy and thanks for reading.

Someone grabbed his arm and shaked him like a rag doll. He'd spaced out again, Eren realized. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, staring in the direction the ambulance had left, but the rain had subsided. Grey clouds were still hanging deep, just waiting to give them another taste. The yellowish light breaking through gave his surroundings a very eerie kind of feeling  
"Kid, can you hear me? Maybe we should call another ambulance for him, he seems in shock," she called over to some other people.  
"Yeah, I'm alright..." Eren concentrated on the woman in front of him. Well, he tried. Thoughts of Levi ghosted through his mind, like a kid chasing after the iceman.  
She seemed in her early forties. And wearing a uniform. A police uniform.  
'Great. Way to behave like a fucking psycho in front of the police. Now pull yourself together Jaeger. Don't want them to run an in depth check on you. Give her a Jaeger smile'. Eren would have groaned, if he had been alone.  
"Sorry to freak you out, Ma'am. I'm fine." He topped his empty words with a sugary smile. He hoped he sounded and looked like a normal human being. He wasn't so sure there.  
Apparently, the police officer wasn't either.  
Brushing wet locks of her blond hair back and laying her forehead in wrinkles, she regarded him closely.  
"You sure? How long have you been sitting here? You're completely soaked."  
"Yes Ma'am. Absolutely. The rain pelted pretty hard before, got soaked through within a second." He smiled even brighter.  
Which didn't help.  
"Young man, I had to shake you for a few minutes until I got any reaction from you."   
'Shit,' Eren thought. His mind was flying, panic rising and with it the heat of his blood. Feeling his body heat up, was actually nice. He was freaking freezing. He needed to get out of this situation. And that fast. Still smiling, he quickly looked her over.   
In such situations he was happy about all the times Armin had forced him to roleplay, in preparation for situations like this one. Training his lying skills like his trizeps, had not just once saved their asses. If you have secrets, you need to have the means to protect them.  
Time to use those acting skills. He let his smile falter.  
"I guess I might have sat here for a longer time. This whole," he used his one hand to emphasize "accident, just made me think of how fast it can be over. It made me remember," and here he sighed softly, "how my parents died." Letting his voice just slightly tremble, he waited a few seconds before he continued. "It's been so long, since they died, but I guess…. ." He shrugged, half smiling and looking up at, her with wide puppy eyes, "the pain never really stops."  
He saw the caring look in her eyes. Gotcha.   
"I understand. That must be pretty hard for you."  
Eren just nodded. He didn't need more to add to the lie. Technically on the paper his parents died when he was 13. Car crash. The nice and official version.  
"We need your statement. For the investigation. But if you don't feel like it, you can come to the station and I take it then."  
Better now, then later, Eren thought. He'd rather reduce the amount of contact with the police.  
"Now is fine," he told her.  
"Well, if you're sure."  
She took his data and then asked about the accident itself. All pretty standard. Eren did his best in trying to answer her questions as sufficient as possible. Which was hard, one part of him was constantly occupied with Levi. Another was telling him to be careful. To not make a wrong move.  
After they were finished, Eren went back to his car. The officer walked with him.  
"You sure you can drive?" she asked him concerned. She had kids for sure. Probably a child his age.  
"I don't have it far. But thanks Ma'am."   
"Well, if you ever need anything or if you need someone to talk to, just come see me. Just ask for Officer Springer."  
Eren almost stumbled.  
"Springer?" Someone had put sandpaper in his throat.  
"Yes. Francesca Springer."  
He got into his car. Trying to process. That was just a coincidence. Right?  
"You know, you remind me of my boy. He sometimes also has that fareaway look," she said ruffling his hair.  
On that she closed the door and walked back to the crash site.


	3. Weight of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Afterall that has happened, decisions have to be made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 3. This is a longer one. I hope you'll enjoy it. Thanks for the read.

Eren took a shaky breath. "Get a grip Jaeger," he told himself, relaxing his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. "Let's just get away from here."  
He drove off, leaving the crash site and the police behind him. He pulled out his phone. 'What was that hospital called again?', he thought.  
'You do know, that you can forget the happy, ever after with roses blooming in the background and invisible violins playing moonshine sonata?' a snarky voice in his head echoed.  
"Thanks brain, for reminding me." He just needed to know, if Levi was alright. That was all. But he also knew, that it wouldn't be enough. Dread and need wove through him like a sharp needle. He had never felt his feelings for Levi in this life so clearly before. Maybe, because he'd always dismissed his existence in this world. That's how they had done it with everyone. Mikasa, Hange, Annie. It had made their situation easier. Concentrating on what was lying ahead, instead of fantasising what might exist somewhere.  
One look at his phone made him cringe.  
He had 26 missed calls, 18 new messages. Fuck.  
He knew they were all from Armin. No question about that.  
Biting his lower lip, he speed dialed, thinking about today's happenings. They'd moved to Edminton just a few weeks ago. They had invested so much time in finding their house. This could jeopardise everything.  
"Eren where are you!" Armin's seriously pissed of voice interrupted his thoughts.  
He needed to give Armin all the information coherent and comprehensible.  
"I found him. I found him and now he just might be dying," it blurted out of him. His eyes glazed over. Unwanted tears forming in them.  
"I found him Armin. Right here in this freaking city. And Erwin might also be here. And Connie. The police officer's name was Springer. I mean that can't be a coincidence, right? Not when those two are also here. And why the fuck did he drive like a madman in this freaking rain?!"  
He was babbling, but he couldn't help it. His mind seemed just now to have fully realized what had happened. Everything he had pushed back until now, exploded in one emotional firework.  
Brushing away the tears, he tried to concentrate on the street. Another crash wouldn't help anyone.  
"Armin?," there had been no reaction on the other side.  
After more silence, he finally heard Armin's voice.  
"I need you to come home."  
"No, I need to go to the hospital. I just want to know how he is. That he's okay. I won't do anything else. I just… I need to know. "  
"No Eren."  
"But…"  
"No," Armin's stern voice interrupted him. "You need to come back. I need to know all the details about what has happened. We need to decide what to do next. And you, you need to calm down," he paused here. "If you go to the hospital now, you'll make mistakes. This has consequences for all of us."  
Eren wanted to argue, until his tongue went numb. But he knew, that Armin was right. He stared through the windshield. 'He still says my name in the same way,' he thought as sweet sadness brushed his heart.  
"I'll take the next turn. I'll be home in around 25 minutes." His voice sounded weak. His chest felt deflated. Maybe that was the reason why.  
He heard Armin exhale. "Good." Apparently he hadn't been sure, how Eren would react. Eren had to admit that his headless actions guided by compassion and feelings, had only marginal bettered. Armin didn't call him factor X for nothing.  
"And Eren? I'm sure he'll pull through. He's a tough bastard." Armin disconnected.  
A small smile spread on Eren's face.

Driving up the steep hill, Eren approached the old mansion. The first time he had seen it, he'd uttered that it was definetly the twin of the Amytiville Horror House, which had gotten him a glare from Ymir. She hated horror movies and failed to understand why he was so into them. They'd left a lifetime of horror behind them, no need to put artificial horror in this new one. That was her opinion. But Eren enjoyed them for their cheesiness. The biggest part of the human population nowadays, had no idea what real terror meant, so they were trying to induce it in their lifes in this way. He enjoyed them for their imagination in the same way he enjoyed fantasy and Sci-Fi movies.  
From the outside everything looked normal. An old mansion surrounded by a couple of old pine trees, a little vegetable and herb garden in front of it. Armin's grandfather was trying to rejunevate it, since they arrived. Behind the house a shed and a garage not only housed the groups set of wheels, Armin's laboratory and the mechanical room were also hidden inside. The mansion overlooked a vast area of farmland, most of it belonging to their grounds. Wheat strands were blowing in the wind, giving the whole picture a homely feeling. There was no sign of the motion detectors which were spread evenly over the area, nor of the infrared detectors strategically posted. Looking up to the first floor, Eren tried to see the two machine guns, but as always, they were well hidden.  
Eren parked his stationwagon, opened the trunk and got the groceries out. He'd totally forgotten about them. Giving the icecream pack a slight squeeze, verified his suspicion. Yummy icecream soup.  
Striding towards the house, the gravel scrunched under his feet. He took the creaking steps in a hurry and barged through the main door.  
Turning left, he passed through the living room and opened the old squeaky door to the dining room.  
They were waiting for him.  
Armin was sitting on the left side of the long cherry tree table, a laptop in front of him, sorted papers surrounded him. He stopped typing, when Eren entered. Ymir shifted on the right wall on which she had been leaning on. Historia was sitting in front of her, cleaning the valve of one of her machines, with a dirty old rag. Big blue eyes shot him an empathetic look. He smiled back tightly.  
In the kitchen he could see Grandfather Oliver standing at the sink. He heard him turn off the water. The old man turned around and grabbed a towel to dry his hands. He gave him a nod.  
"Sit down Eren," the old man's voice boomed through the room. "And then tell us exactly what happened."  
Eren sat down at the end of the table, placing the groceries next to him.  
And then he shot right back up, like a young boy with a sudden growth spurt and started pacing the room instead. His body was agitated, he needed to let the energy out. But his mind was calm and he explained precisely what had happened earlier. His suspicions of Levi not being the only reincarnate in this town, were mentioned as well.  
To this, Armin just nodded.  
"I have confirmed, that Erwin is here as well. He's the director of the local hospital. Levi seems to own the local bike shop. And a bar." Armin shifted some of his papers. "I also could verify that Connie is here. And Sasha." Armin smirked. "They got a few times together into trouble. Their last big coup was kidnapping a catering van. After they got caught they declared, they needed to steal it to give the food to the poor and hungry. Which was of course themselves." A slight laughter erupted in the group.  
"None of them are using social networks, I've got all my information from the local newspaper, which makes the matter more difficult. It will take me some time to find further information about possible reincarnates. I'm going to hack into the school system and the town files, to see what I can find." Armin ended.  
"Do you really need to?" Ymir inquired. "Knowing that they're in reach, but being unable to interact with them, seems like self inflicted torture to me."  
'She is right,' Eren thought looking down at his hand. He still felt the phantom warmth of Levi's hand.  
Silence span a soft cocoon around them.  
"You're right Ymir. In some way it is torture. But it's also.... happiness to know that your friends and comrades of once can live their life carefree. That they can just be themselves." Historia's soft voice broke through the silence. She looked back at the tall woman, a greasy hand reaching for one of hers. Ymir took it without thought. "And we're going to make sure it stays that way."  
"And it's interesting to see what they're doing with their lifes. I mean, I can totally imagine Erwin as the powerful overlord of the hospital. Not much difference from ruling the survey corps. I wonder if he designs elaborate schemes to find food thieves in the canteen." Eren said.  
"Probably writes long ass reports about the frugal use of soap," Armin threw in.  
They all grinned at each other. Erwin's expense monitoring had gone to extreme measures during their time in the survey corp. He had started to ration everything of their daily life. It had gotten so far, he even demanded showers only to be taken every second day. The battle that followed was as fierce as every ride outside the wall. Levi and Mike had led the counterattack, with Levi openly threatening the Commander to make him sniff his own ass. In the end, Erwin had to admit his defeat.  
Eren's grin digged deeper, the memories of a furious Levi too sweet. His mind wandered to Levi's daily life.  
Being a salesman didn't really seem to fit Levi, even if it was selling motorbikes. But he could imagine him behind a bar.Grumpy, scowling and giving a shit about his costumers' day.  
The picture of him lying on the road reemerged from Eren's mind. He sat down, clasping his head in his hands, trying to hold back the new wave of pain. The metallic taste in his mouth made him shudder. He had bitten his tongue to hold in the sobs, fighting to escape his throat.  
As he looked back up, he realised he was the point of attention. He saw the worry in everyone's eyes, even in Ymir's .  
"Ah, don't worry. I'm going to be fine. It's just.... too fresh. I promise, I won't do anything stupid, like disguise myself and sneak into Levi's hospital room." He smiled at them. "I won't do anything to threaten us or them." Especially not Levi. He wouldn't put him into danger again. He wouldn't risk to be the reason he'll loose his life again. He clenched his fist."I know Ymir would break both my legs if I'd try." He laughed, but he'd only said that in a half-joke. Ymir really would break his legs without batting an eye, if he was going to endanger Historia.  
The brown-eyed woman nodded. "We all agree to relocate then?" she asked into the group. They all did. But Eren still felt his heart sink, as if someone had attached an anchor to it, pulling him into the Mariana Trench of depression. It wasn't only, that he couldn't see Levi again. He felt the tiny stabs over not being able to see Connie, Sasha and Erwin. He wondered if Hange was also in Edminton. He really, really missed the crazy scientist with the odd habits. And Jean. But he didn't want to meet Jean. He wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes. Not after what had happened to Marco.  
The solemn atmosphere was thick. Everyone was caught in their own thoughts of missed reconnections. Of missed possibilities.  
Grandfather Oliver cleared his throat.  
"Right," Armin said startled. "We'll relocate. I'm not sure, how long that will take. It took us almost four months to find this place here. It might take shorter or longer, but everybody, we need to stay on our guard. No visits to the town for us."  
"There go my plans for a cinema date," Ymir said. "What about the townspeople? Some of them already saw us quite frequently, especially the old ladies at the library? And those girls sure love to gossip."  
"They might, but they could also think you're the odd appearance of Backpackers or honeymooners. Until now, they're only aware of Grandfather living here. And we live far enough outside, for them not to butt into our business. If we handle this correctly, they won't connect us with each other. And if they should, we'll hopefully be already gone." Armin rubbed his forehead, staring intently at his laptop screen.  
"That's not what I'm worried about."  
"It's Levi." Eren said. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "He'll search for me," he said while looking at the grey storm clouds outside.


	4. Wish you were here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on and preparations are being made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we have Chapter 4. I'm still not 100% happy, but I'm sure I'll never be. As always, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.  
> As a small warning for the audience, some of the characters will consume alcohol. this chapter is also full of feels.  
> 

Two months had passed since the accident. Eren knew that Levi had survived and was recovering. Armin had supplied him with all the information, the local newspaper was withholding. In addition to the open thigh fracture, Levi had scored a brain concussion and a fractured ribcage. He underwent an emergency operation but everything went well. According to the hospital data base, he'd be chained to the hospital for at least four months. That gave them a wide enough time window to get done with their preparations. They would leave Edminton before Levi's release.  
Eren was relieved to know that Levi was alright. The constant worry about his health had been taken from his shoulders. But the weight hadn't been lifted. He couldn't deny the despair he felt. Every thread of his soul yearned for Levi, like a dying flower yearned for the rain. But he couldn't see him, couldn't go to him. He knew it was the right decision. He needed to stay away from him. And he despised the alluring voice in his head, which sometimes whispered, to just drive to the hospital, to take a quick peek. And the part which answered with 'Why not?'. He hated himself for even thinking that way. He hated that egoistic Eren, that would throw away all security and care, to just have a few seconds with Levi.  
He didn't make it better by reading all sorts of articles about Levi in the online archive of the local newspaper. Edminton was a small town and Levi seemed to be some kind of city legend, him being a known adrenaline junkie. There was a range of reports about the raven haired man and all kinds of stunts and accidents he pulled throughout the years. In a moment of weakness Eren printed out one of the pictures. It showed Levi with his trademark frown, annoyance radiating of him. Eren always carried it with him. 'I show real stalker tendencies,' Eren thought to himself, while looking at the picture. 'This isn't really helping yourself, buddy.' But he didn't stop. Instead he embraced his feelings which were hanging over him like a gloomy umbrella.  
Armin wasn't better of. He had succeded into hacking into the school computer system. Among the list of reincarnates were the members of the former Levi special operation squad, Rico, Jean and Annie.  
Eren had seen the crestfallen look on Armin's face that evening and without even knowing what had happened, he went to the cabinet in the living room and got two glasses and a bottle of whiskey out. Good old Jameson wouldn't make the situation better, hell no. But the amber liquid would ease the pain, at least for a little while.  
Their moods swayed like a ship on rough sea. On one side they discussed their lifes and situation with a passion, which only could be brought forth by the sweetness of alcohol and the pain of the heart. Their hysteric laughter didn't only once fill the dining room. Then there was the phase of depression, both of them just staring silently into their glasses, fighting their inner demons. They refilled each other's glasses until the bottle was empty.  
That night, they ended up on the roof, watching the dead starlight travel to earth. Ymir had called up to them, that they'd better not crack their heads on the pavement. She was on cleaning duty this week and she wasn't inclined to clean their brain matter of the ground. They had both answered with howling and more hysteric laughter.  
Eren listened to the rustle of the pine trees around them and slowly sipped the last drop of the amber liquid, feeling the satisfying burn in his throat. "We're doing the right thing," he said. He didn't know if he had said it to reassure Armin or himself.  
"Yes we are." Armin sighed. The blue-eyed man leaned back against the white wood. "Maybe," he said "when we've brought down Reiss's petty organisation and we've saved the others, we can come back and……maybe they'll let us be a part of their lifes."   
"Do you really think they are still alive?" Eren thought about their parents. They knew for sure that his father was kept alive. Grisha was still needed. But he wasn't so sure about his mom. Or Armin's parents. Or Marco. He felt the cold grip of guilt around his heart. Marco had been captured because of him. Because of a stupid mistake he had made.   
"Logically speaken, not all of them should be." Armin paused. "But I still hope that all of them are. Pretty irrational." He smirked.  
Eren watched a shooting star. He would wish upon it, but it dawned on him, that only he himself could fulfill his wishes.  
"You're right Armin. We'll just come back. And then I'm going to drive down to that bar, walk in and just tell Levi that I love him. Always have. Always will. No matter who's in there." He emptied his glass. In his last life he had been to afraid to do it. Levi had never said it either, but that shouldn't have kept him from conveying his feelings. It wouldn't this time.   
Armin laughed hard. "I hope he's not going to whip your ass for that."  
"I don't care."  
"I'm sure you don't. " Armin winked. Eren showed him his lovely middlefinger.   
"What about you?"   
Armin went silent. Eren wondered if Levi was also watching the stars. One day, they would watch them together, he promised himself.  
"I'll go to the bakery and bring her tulips," Armin mumbled softly.  
"Let's hope she'll still work there."  
"She owns it," Armin said. "Sasha and Connie are probably regular customers. Trying to snatch cookies and muffins."   
"I'm not so sure if they really try it. They used to be quite intimidated by Annie and her death stares."  
"Do you really remember Sasha? I mean really? She'd kill and die for food. She'd put her head into the mouth of a lion, if you give her just one french frie." Armin shaked his head. "And her partner in crime and mischief would always be there. All the pranks they conducted together. I'm not even sure which one of them came up with them all the time. They always shared one brain. Makes you wonder, how they survived before they met each other." Armin shook his head, a fire suddenly ignited in his eyes. "Remember when they decided to play a joke on Jean? And ended up on playing it on Moblit?"  
Eren started to laugh. He had to hold on to the roof, to not slide down. "When they 'enhanced' Jean's soap with that chemical they snatched out of Hange's lab that turns you first violet and then brown? What was it called?"  
"Potassium permanganate," Armin told him through his laugh. "And then Connie got the lockers mixed up and ended up exchanging Moblit's soap."  
Eren would never forget Moblit's or Connie's face during the whole incident. That day, he found out how scary the pale scientist could be. He still remembered the scream of anger and the sheer look of terror on Connie's face. Connie and subtlety were as incomparable as oil and water. And a raging, violet Moblit would have even had the best liar forget his wits. That's how the scientist found the guilty one pretty fast. Connie had been rooted to the floor and reduced to a stuttering one-year old. The chase that followed was short but eventful, with Connie's screams echoing through the bathroom as he got his face scrubbed with the special soap. As punishment, Sasha and Connie got special laboratory duty for two months and additional cleaning duty for 6 months, after Levi found out that the soap had also stained the bathroom tiles.  
They talked about their time in the survey corp, until the sun rose slowly, but steady in the east. It painted the sky in shades of purple, red, orange and yellow. It reminded Eren of the kaleidoscope his mother had bought him for his 8th birthday.   
After that night of drinking, they both never talked about the matter again. Not that everything was alright now, but instead they tried to concentrate on the future. A future with those they held dear.   
The day their plans changed again, had been a mostly sunny day. Rain had nurtured their vegetables, herbs and wheat in the morning. After that,the sun had taken over and her soft rays had dried their small piece of land.  
In the evening, Eren was on guard duty. Watching the monitors around him was as boring as reality tv, but he made himself concentrate. He waited for any sign, that something bigger than a freaking sqirrel was crossing their lands. Maybe a mutant squirrel, hungry for human flesh and 5 m tall, Eren contemplated.  
The monitor for motion detection beeped loudly, informing him, that something had passed the entrance sensors, 10km away. He turned to the monitors which showed the different cameras spread over the area. They were attached to watering towers and silos, recording different sections and interlapping, to make sure there was no dead angle.   
Eren switched to the cameras for the entrance section. A car was approaching, a taxi according to the prints on its side.  
Why was a taxi coming up? Without thinking, Eren pressed the button for the silent alarm. They had to be as careful as a mouse in a room full of cats. Even if the vehicle might not host any danger.  
The gravel road to the mansion was steep and curvey, it would take the car a few minutes to get to the house. Seasoned, he pulled out his guns, removed the magazine of the first and pulled the slide back, checking the chamber. Eren let the magazines glide back and stored the gun in the holster on the small of his back. Then he repeated the process with the second gun and stored it in the holster around his left foot. He readjusted the hunting knife on his right foot and then made for the door. He saw Ymir and Historia making their way up the stairs. The tall, tanned woman had an arm around the petite's shoulders, her hand playing absentmindly with the blond hair. Eren hoped this was just a false alarm, as he walked out the front door. A real attack at this stage would just be devastating. He picked up the rake leaning against the porch and walked over to their garden. There he started to rake the carpet of brown leaves. And waited.  
The sunrays broke through the clouds, lighting the house and its premises as the taxi approached. Eren watched it discreetly. The car hadn't stopped yet, when the left back door opened. He saw a jeansclad leg emerge. And crutches.  
Dumbfounded he just stood there, silently watching while the rest of the short man appeared. One part of him hoped, that Historia and Ymir where sensitive enough not to shoot. Another part wondered where the fuck Armin was, he'd seriously needed his help. Because he wouldn't be able to lie to the man with the scowl on his pale face, wearing jeans and a fitted 'Rise against' shirt. Eren felt like a rabbit facing a wolf. His gaze couldn't waver from those steel eyes. He could just watch as Levi walked towards him, feeling the thrumming of his blood, as if it was dancing in his presence.  
Standing face to face now, the scowl on Levi's face didn't lighten. He regarded Eren, studied him. It reminded Eren of their first meeting in the cellar.  
A soft shudder ran through his body, goosebumps splattering his skin.   
"Shitty brat, what were you thinking?"  
Eren's eyes widened. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He closed his mouth again, like a fish on dry land. There was a reason, but he couldn't seem to remember, standing here now, clutching the wooden handle of the rake so hard, he'd be sure to have splinters in his hand. Gazing into the shorter man's eyes, his mind was devoid of any thought.  
Suddenly Levi's left hand shot forward, pulling Eren down by his neck. Pressing Eren's forehead against his shoulder, Levi whispered into his ear:  
"Didnt you tell me, you'll always stay by my side?"


	5. Can't hold us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback and POV change. Levi recounts the steps which led to his meet up with Eren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again, we've reached Chapter 5. As the summary already told you, it's flashback time with Levi.  
> I hope you'll enjoy reading it.

Tears were rolling down Eren's cheeks, wetting Levi's neck and shirt. Eren crumbled it with his tight grip, pressing their bodies together. Normally, Levi would have bashed anyone for destroying his meticulously straightened clothes.   
But he didn't care.  
Eren was where he should be. With him.  
Inhaling deeply, he picked up Eren's fresh scent of lemons and let his fingers glide through those soft strands of mahaghony hair.  
And he wasn't fucking crazy.  
That had been Erwin's explanation. Though he had voiced it differently. More diplomatic. As always.   
As Levi had opened his eyes again, a lighter darkness than the one in his head had welcomed him. He felt scratchy sheets, filthy with his sweat, underneath and above him. The plastic of an intubation tube rubbed against the inside of his throat. Beeping machines surrounded him . Staring off into this grey world, a single thought was ingrained in his still cloudy mind: Eren. Levi fought against the hazyness, which tried to lure him back to sleep, forcing his unwilling, stiff muscles to work instead. He didn't want to let Eren wait any longer. Sitting in that germ infested, vomitinducing, disgustingly yellow coloured waiting room. Worry in those teal eyes. Levi wanted to reassure him. See the sudden explosion of his smile again.  
It had taken him eternities to even sit up. His heartbeat rose embarrassingly, which the machine next to him happily recorded. He shot it an annoyed glare, but that thing was unfazed. He ignored the crunching pain in his chest, ripping out the infusion needles instead. The intubation tube, would be a problem, but Levi figured, he'd seen enough episodes of Emergency Room to do it on his own. Preparing and gathering the slight sparks of strength, Levi fastened his hands around the tube, as a shrill shriek startled him. A fury in blue ran towards him, pushed him down with enough force, that a pained moan escaped him and took control of his hands. He looked into stern, tired, honey eyes.   
"Corporal, what exactly are you trying to do?"  
Apparently, Petra was the attending doctor of the night.  
He just raised an eyebrow. He couldn't speak with that damn tube anyway. She let slowly go off him, keeping a steady eye on his movements, while giving soft orders to the nurse, which had materialized behind her. The nurse flew off and Petra began to check his status, the scratching sound of pen on paper accompanying the beeps. Tapping his forefinger, Levi waited. The nurse reappeared and started to reattache the infusion needles and electrodes As Petra finally decided that he was well enough to get rid of the intubation tube, Levi couldn't help but roll his eyes. He had always cherished Petra for her dilligence, but right now it bugged the fucking hell out of him.   
As she was about to extract the tube, Erwin made his entrance. Disshelved wheatblond hair, dark circles and a slight stubble grazed his face. He wore a disappointed expression, but the tall man couldn't get rid of the trace of gratefulness in his blue eyes. Levi knew that he was in for a lecture and he would sit through it obediently. After he had seen Eren.  
Pulling on Petra's side and gagging and coughing on his side, got him finally free of that annoying tube. Not an experience he'd like to relive.  
"Let Eren in." His voice felt dry.  
Both of them stared at him and then, like dumbfounded pigeons, at each other.  
"Corporal....Eren isn't here," Petra gently answered. Erwin moved closer to him, extending his hand to Petra over Levi's bed.   
"So he went home?" That nagged at Levi, he hated to admit. But it was better than having him nap in a clammy, plastic chair.  
Petra gave Erwin a pocket flashlight. Erwin turned it on.  
"Levi, what do you remember from the accident?" he asked.  
"What the...!" Levi exclaimed as Erwin started to shine bright light into his eyes.  
"Just answer the question."  
Levi scowled. "It was raining a shit ton of water. I lost control of my bike in a bend. Eren took care of me until I lost conciousness," he answered curtly.   
He followed the light with his eyes. Erwin cleared his throat, shutting of the flaslight and looked concentrated at Levi, lines appearing on his forehead.   
"The CT was clear? MRI?" Petra nodded. "We're retaking them just for safety measures."  
Petra began noting down in his patient sheet. Levi looked at Erwin, a frown of his own forming. He didn't like the look on Erwin's face.  
After a few seconds of silence, Erwin held an introduction to head trauma 101. He described to Levi that head trauma as in his case, could sometimes induce hallucinations. Ad the similarities between his accident and Levi's memories of his death, it just seemed natural, that he'd replaced his actual rescuer with Eren.   
Levi listened stoical. We're they pranking him? Was this some kind of retaliation for his kamikaze behaviour? But from the way Erwin and Petra behaved and the sympathy reflecting in their eyes, he realized that they were dead serious. They thought he'd hallucinated Eren. No. This was wrong. His mind might be fucked up, but he knew what he had seen and felt. He remembered the rain drops running down Eren's chin, the glint of his eyes as he told Levi about the ocean and the heat of his hand. He fucking didn't care what the star child of Edminton had to say. He had been there with him. Eren was alive.   
He was about to rip out his injection needles again, as Erwin interrupted him.  
"Then why isn't he here? Wouldn't he be sitting anxiously in the waiting room, pestering nurses and doctors alike with enough question, they'd regard drugging him to shut him up?"  
That's what the brat would do. Doubt entered his heart, unrest filled his mind. Could he really have imagined everything? Eren had been the last thing he had been thinking about, before he'd crashed. Rain like that, always made him remember the day he had protected him for the last time. The day he had to leave him. The day he had died.  
In those minutes after the crash, had his mind just decided to fulfill his one wish? To see Eren again? Levi grasped his forehead and leaned back in the ruffled bed. Pain emanated behind his eyes.   
Maybe Erwin was right. The thought made him feel drained. Levi realized, that even though he felt pain in his body and nauseous from the drugs, there had been a level of happiness. His subconsciousness had been happy. Happy to get a second chance. To make things right and not hold back when it came to Eren this time. But now, he was stripped of it again. Logic betraying his second chance.  
He stared through his fingers at the white ceiling. Fissures in the plaster reminded him of the of the outlines of the three walls.  
And maybe he was crazy. So what? He so fucking didn't care. If there was the possibility of Eren being alive, being close to him, he would go after it and if it fucking killed him. He needed proof one way or another. His lips twitched. Commander Eyebrows could have his truth, Levi would go and search for his own.  
He was sitting up again, ripping the electrodes and the needles out, ignoring Petra and Erwin as he would have ignored flies. They would have to chain him to his bed to stop him. After they drugged him, he told them. In his weakened state though, he was no match for Erwin's brawler physique and no swearing and cursing could avoid the prick of a strong sedative.  
The next time he woke up, he found his wrists secured to the bed. That's for putting ideas in their heads. He glared at Petra, greeting her with silence as she made her rounds. Ignoring his childish behaviour, she instead chirped on about different topics: his current health state, his recovery time (up to 4 months are you fucking kidding me?!) and that he had visitors.   
For a tiny moment that made his heart flutter, before he reminded himself, that she'd behave differently if Eren had been one of them.  
Looking at the situation now, with his mind as clear as a glass of vodka, there had to be a reason why Eren hadn't visited him. He would call the police station and ask Francesca for the name and number of the first-aid helper. Nothing weird about wanting to thank your saviour.  
But even before he could ask for his phone, Erwin strode into his room, carrying a folder. That bastard had of course forseen his next step. And from the look on his face, he knew that the contents wouldn't make Levi happy. He had prepared for battle.  
Alan Hunter was the name of the guy who rescued him. A picture accompanied the name. He looked similar, but nothing like Eren. Same hair color, but a different cut, the same face but more on the marshmallow side of life. And his eyes were dull, were Eren's were vibrant.  
This should have dispersed any doubts. But somehow, it just cemented his resolve. He would only believe this shit, if that guy was standing right in front of him. He knew sharing his thoughts would just end him with more drugging and tighter observation. He highly doubted that he'd have any chance of getting out of the hospital before the four months were over. Even if he could do backflips again. And for fucks sake, that would take too long. He needed to compile a squad. People who he trusted and were as invested in what he had seen to be the truth. First, he needed to let Erwin and Petra believe he had swallowed the hallucination crap. So he just nodded at the folder in front of him, while proceeding to stay silent.  
He got an "I'm sorry Levi" from Erwin and a soft caressing touch from Petra, while his mind already formed a plan. He pushed it back, as he watched his family approach through his glass doors. The look in his mom's stormy eyes made him shiver. It's ridiculous for a war veteran to be afraid of his mom, Levi thought. And yet, he was. He scanned the faces of his stepdad and stepsister. They just seemed exhausted. His stepdad even smiled softly at him.   
After the wave of family and friends had ceased, Levi inhaled deeply. Not that he was ungrateful for their concern. He was happy to have them. And to have a second chance to cherish them to the fullest in this life. Without the fear of having them ripped out of his life by gigantic humans. Not that he really had transformed to a hugging-and-spilling-his-feelings-with-an-approachable-face kind of guy. Some things didn't change. He still didn't give a shit about most stuff. Just about the one that counted.   
It had taken him a lot of of research and asking kindly/intimidating to find a possible lead. Alan Hunter had a picturesque little apartement in the nearby university city. Mikasa observed it whenever her studies allowed it. She would have completely ignored them, but Levi insisted on her taking shifts with Erd. Erd was less willing to use his scarce spare time for an observation mission, instead of his little baby girl, but there was no way to avoid his former squad leader. Luckily for Erd, Mikasa's impatience cut the observation short. Ater a week with no one showing up besides a cleaning lady, Mikasa went over to breaking and entering. She had to shot down an intricate security systems and not something you got on the market. The apartement itself was fully equipped. There were clothes, magazines, books, games. Even pictures. But it seemed like no one was living there. The fridge was empty. Cans filled the cabinets. There were shower utensils in the bathroom, but everything seemed new. The atmosphere inside the apartment was sterile. Mikasa was sure that it was just a fake set-up. Levi trusted her judgement. And why would his rescuer not return home? Long vacation? But all his clothes still in their drawers? Highly unlikely.   
Gunther ended up in another dead end. As far as he could tell, Alan Hunter was 19 years old and orphaned since he was thirteen. He lived from the funds his parents left him. He had been living in the apartement since then, his uncle who conveniently died when he had reached legal age, being his guardian. No working place. Didn't study. No social networks. A car was licensed on his name. A corolla. But Levi clearly remembered it to be a stationwagon. Gunther checked the records of everyone involved. Alan, his parents, his uncle. They all seemed to have lived rather secluded, keeping to themselves. But everything was perfectly in order. Birth certificates, death certificates, school enrollments, company establishments.   
The whole affair stunk. All puzzle pieces fitted into each other so perfectly. But what about the desolate apartement? The different car? No real visual living proof of Alan Hunter? Levi was sure, that if they tried to find friends or schoolmates, they wouldn't find any. And they still had no real lead. Frustration was his ubiquitous companion. He used it to push harder through physiotherapy. Sweat driplets ran down his face as he analyzed every puzzle piece. His muscles ached. If he could ask Mike for help, things would be easier. But he was sure that Erwin had blocked that road. He hadn't swallowed his obedient act. The security guards patrolling his floor were the obvious proof.  
So what did I miss? He thought, his palms rubbing across the bares. He wished he'd knew the license plate of Eren's car. But he doubted, that it would guide it to him. That lead would definitely scatter as well, like dandelion seeds in the wind. Levi stopped, his eyes widened.  
But why was he on that road anyway? Almost no one used it anymore, besides himself and the other occasional adrenaline junkie. And the people who lived in the few farms situated along it. Even if you decided to drive from Edminton to the next town, you'll use the highway. That's what every navigation system recommended . Otherwise you'd ended driving an hour longer.  
"Fuck....he lives on one of those farms."There was no proof of course. Just his guts telling him, he was right. Groaning, he pushed through the last exercises, his body in desperate need of a shower. Ignoring his hygienic needs, he called Annie first. She was the most suited to interview the townspeople and chatterboxes.  
Their last straw ended up to be an old man. He had bought a farm a few months ago. He seemed to be an hermit. Not much interesting to say about him, so the old ladies in the city left him alone. His appearances in Edminton were rare and he bought everything in bulk. Which should keep him well fed for far longer if he was really alone, Annie mentioned. She and Mikasa went on a quick observation of the farm. Annie noted, that a lot of the silos and sheds on the ground seemed rather new. And spread out too evenly. But the only person leaving the area was the bearded man. They didn't enter the areal, even though Annie had difficulties holding Mikasa back. Annie was sure, that people who faked lifes with apartments and funerals, would have an observation systems at hand. On the same scale of the apartement's alarm system.  
Sitting in his hospital room, the three of them looked their investigation over. They had no proof, only assumptions. Maybe that man was preparing for the zombie apocalypse or he was hiding Eren. Levi would get out of the hospital and see for himself.   
But to accomplish that he would have to resort to drastical measures, giving the grade of observation and control he had been under the whole time.He had debated with himself that this move might be unfair, on the other hand that fucking bolo wearing bastard deserved nothing better for drugging and restraining him. And keeping him restrained for the next week. Even if he had had a fit which scared the beejesus out of them.  
He called Hange.  
On the day of his escape, some of Edminton's biggest troublemakers were assembled in the hospital. They all waited for the signal of Levi's and Hange's plan. Then they would start commotions in different parts of the hospital, to draw most of the nurses and doctors, as well as the security personal stationed on his floor, away. Sasha and Connie would infiltrate the canteen. Only seeing them would put the kitchen personal in a frenzy. Their last visit ended in a food battle of epical severity. Hange would simulate that her latest experiment had gone terribly wrong. Jean would play her willing assistant/ victim. Which wasn't so far away from the truth. As a kid, Levi had been more than once an inhabitant of the hospital due to Hange's experiments. And everyone in town still remembered her experiments with elemental potassium, which had literally shook the town. Annie and Mikasa would be the escape team, to get him out of the hospital, while the others wreaked havoc.  
Soon after he gave the signal, the first screams errupted. He couldn't help the grin stretching his lips, as he watched the confusion outside his doors. He waited until the security guards and some of the nurses and doctors left his floor. Levi kicked the blankets back. He had lifted himself out of his bed, as Mikasa appeared, throwing clothes at him. She closed the curtain and pulled a walkie-talkie out. "Midget successfully reached," she spoke into it, a smirk adorning her porcelain face. Levi didn't even try to surpress the eye-roll. He instead pulled his clothes on, while Mikasa guarded the door. Sometimes his cousin was now more childish, then when she had been an actual kid.   
"Will that fake heart really work?" Mikasa asked him.  
Levi took a look at his heart monitor, now watching over one of Hange's bioengineered machines.   
"Well, it's shitty-glasses design. And I can throw a lot at her, but stupid isn't one of them. But for safety measures, we should get away from it. You never know, it might explode."  
He took his crutches and moved out of the room, Mikasa holding the curtain open. They moved fast. The corridors were empty and the few nurses and doctors they encountered, didn't really take notice of them. Annie joined them halfway. She was on the phone with the taxi driver, to make sure he was in place at the staff entrance. She handed him a hospital badge.   
"Hey you, where are you going?"  
They skidded to a halt.  
"Damn," Levi whispered under his breath.  
"I'll take care of this," Mikasa told them, flinging her hair over her shoulder and turning around to the male voice.  
With a look over his shoulder, he took in the young doctor with the budding blush. Easy prey.  
Annie and he moved on. They passed the last door using the badge and were out in the open. He could see his escape car. They swiftly moved towards it. Annie opened the door for him, then leaned to the driver to confirm the destination. Levi handed the badge back to her. They nodded at each other as she closed the door. The driver lost no time and drove off.  
The ride was uneventful. But as soon as they entered the farmland and the wheat on both sides embraced them, hope warmed his chest. Please, be there, he thought. The road got steeper and it seemed them to take ages to approach the house. Levi leaned forward, holding on to the seat in front of him, gripping the cheap fake leather. The white house came into view. It reminded him of the Amytiville Horror House. He let his eyes travel over the high windows and the white color coming off.   
And then he saw him.  
Standing, beside a small vegetable garden, raking leaves as if it was the most normal thing in the world. He had looked up as the taxi approached, those grass green orbs fixed on the vehicle.   
Levi threw the door open, which earned him an exasperated outcry from the driver. He didn't care if the car was still driving. He would have jumped out of it it had been going 80.  
There was Eren. His heart, that useless meatball, raced as if it was the one who would walk over to him. After lifting himself and his crutches out of the car, he righted himself next to the door. Looking at the surprised expression of the tall brunette, he saw happiness colliding with worry, battling each other for the upperhand. Whatever it was that made Eren fake lifes in such an impressive way, he would find it out. He would listen and scold and make him grovel for not trusting in him. But only after, he had him in his arms again.


	6. Dearly Beloved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will this be the final reunion between Eren and Levi? Levi has many questions but is Eren willing to answer them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi and welcome to chapter 6. Ahem, there will be some fluff, ahem or at least fluff-like. Ahem. I don't know. Anyway. There will be words to read. And so you know, I have a head canon, that Levi is a serious tea connoisseur, that's why there is such a tea thing going on in this chapter. I'm gonna leave you now. I hope you'll enjoy you're read.

Levi opened his eyes again and took a deep breath. Eren's scent lingered in his mouth, a sweet garden of ripe lemons. Turning his head a bit, he let his lips brush over Eren's exposed skin. Neck to ear, nipping at the exposed earlobe. The young man shuddered. Levi's heart stuttered. Eren lifted his head, they're hair entangling, like lover's of their own. They connected eyes. Eren's were a swollen and puffy mess. The bottlegreen sheen of them, promising. Levi swiped gently a lingering tear away, letting his pale thumb glide over Eren's tan cheeks, down to his lower lip. His eyes followed his thumb, as it traced its outline. "Levi," Eren whispered.  
Levi raised his eyes again, his heart rushing like a racing horse. Meeting the green forest, which would swallow him. And he didn't mind at all. He wanted to loose himself forever in Eren. The space between them dissapeared, as Eren bowed down to him. Levi held Eren's smooth chin, pulling him towards himself, his right hand orphaned the crutch he had been holding on to and instead finding a new home on Eren's neck. Their lips collided, resulting in an explosion of need, Levi had never known he could feel. He pulled him harder against himself, his left hand sliding over Eren's hard chest down to his hips, pulling them towards his own. Levi nipped at Eren's plush lower lip, earning him a soft moan. He let his tongue skim over it, tasting it. He felt Eren's hand in his own hair, fingers playing with his undercut and the sensitive skin there. The other gripped at his back, tightening their embrace. More, Levi thought. He pressed an half-open mouthed kiss against Eren. His tongue finding a willing entrance and Eren's sweet welcoming tongue. The first touch made them both tremble, so delicious as the memory but as new as every sunrise. There was no gentleness, only passion, as their hips brushed against each other. Their tongues dancing, caressing, as if they had a mind of their own, eliciting sighs from their hosts.  
A loud honk broke them apart, breathing heavily and with longing eyes.  
Levi narrowed his eyes. "That fucking bastard has no shred of decency," he mumbled. He stared intently at Eren's lips, before turning around with a groan and bowed down to pick up his crutches. He felt Eren's eyes on him, as he pushed the crutches deep into the gravel, staggering towards the cab. The air felt cold on his hot face. A soft smile stretched his lips, an euphoric smile digging into Levi's face. But he erased it for the taxi driver as he gave him a piece of his mind, before handing him the money. The red faced man drove of, but not without gracing Levi with the compliment of his middle finger.  
Levi coughed as dust danced around him. Shaking his head, he was happy to have gotten rid of this distraction. He wanted to enjoy those moments with Eren, before everyone else wanted a piece of him and he had to wait until the reunions had been celebrated. He turned to look at the tall brunette. The expression on Eren's face made an army of ants dance in his stomach. Fuck, was it really even possible for one person to make you go through the motions like this? Heading back to Eren, he wished his leg wouldn't be broken. It would make things easier. He would just toss him over his shoulder and take him to a room. Lock them up. And make him explain his actions. After, he had remembered every bit of skin, listened to every sweet moan and became addicted to his taste again.  
A man appeared on Eren's left. Smaller than Eren his wheat blond hair was long enough, to wear it in a short ponytail. Stark blue eyes glanced at him, before focussing on Eren. Arlert sure has grown, Levi thought. He saw him touch Eren's shoulder, startling the taller man, who had been oblivious of his friend's appearance until now. Levi watched as the tranquil expression washed off Eren's face as his and Arlert's eyes met. Eren lowered his head at the ground, his jaw clenched.  
As he stepped in front of them, Eren turned to look at him. But where there had been bliss before, a blank face looked at him, his gaze not meeting his own. Levi frowned and moved his eyes to the other former member of his Special Operation Squad. Arlert wore a placid expression.  
"Corp....Levi, would you like to come inside?" Armin asked. Levi regarded him for a second, before he nodded. Before Eren could even take a step away from Levi, he caught his right hand. He ignored Eren's gaze, instead squeezing his hand softly and throwing Arlert a challenging look. Whatever Erwin junior was up to, he thought, he wouldn't allow it.  
******* Levi took in the living room. A home magazine would describe it as spartanic. Not that he read those. A simple wooden couch table was surrounded by a brown leather couch with two matching recliners. A huge bookcase was residing in a corner, overflowing with books. A standing lamp right out of the 70s hell was standing inbetween the couch and one of the recliners. No pictures, no accessories. The room seemed unused. Like a setting for a play.  
"Please, have a seat." Armin extended his hand to the couch.  
"Do you need a pillow for your leg?" Eren asked. Levi turned his head to look at him, but Eren's eyes were trained on the worn couch. However, he could see a soft magenta shade on his cheecks and the tips of his ears.  
"Yes."  
Eren gently tugged his hand out of Levi's hold. Levi's eyes followed Eren as he went out of the room and across the hallway.  
"Levi, would you like some tea?," Arlert drew his attention back to him.  
Levi glanced at him and recognized the calculating look in his eyes. A look he had seen too often in Erwin's eyes. Even if he had put on a pleasant face, this puppy could bite.  
"No sugar."  
Armin smiled. "Eren could you brew tea for us?," he asked the returning brunette. Eren slowly nodded, handing Levi a pillow. Levi took it, but not without touching Eren's hand. Their eyes met and for a fraction of time Levi saw pain in Eren's eyes, before they returned to emptiness. A soft sting in his chest echoed through him. Without another word, Eren walked through the second door in the room, leaving him and Arlert alone.  
Adjusting the coffee table and placing the pillow on top of it, he sat down and put his leg on top of it. Crossing his arms, Levi leaned back into the soft leather, piercing the pony-tailed man with his silver gaze.  
"I'm happy to see you're well. Eren told me about the accident. It seemed pretty grave. An open thigh fracture isn't something that heals easily. It's good that there are no complications," Armin said in a conversational tone.  
So we're starting this off, by chit-chatting like some midwestern Aunties in floral bonnets?  
"Spit it out Arlert. What the fuck is going on here?"  
He just kept on smiling and continued:  
"You recovered faster, than I anticipated. I don't think Erwin approved of your release from the hospital, did he?"  
Levi's frown deepened. Stalling wouldn't help him. Levi had come to stay.  
"Erwin had valid concerns regarding my well-being. I chose to ignore them. We're not in the Survey Corps anymore, Dorothy."  
"Of course. How many people know that you are here?"  
"Are you planning to snuff my candle, Arlert?", Levi retorted.  
Arlert started laughing. The first genuine expression of his, Levi had seen until now.  
The younger man rubbed his face. Exhaustion clearly displayed on his facial expression.  
"I don't want to play games Levi." He leaned forward.  
"Then stop with the bullshit,"Levi replied.  
Armin frowned, his eyes hooded, dark thoughts seemed to weigh heavy on him. Levi didn't know in what kind of problems the boys could be involved. This shroud of secrecy they were holding onto. He remembered when he had talked it over with Hange. She had had some abstruse theories, like they had killed the president of a minor country or are the real voices of a famous boyband and have for their own protection to stay in hiding. But whatever it was, they went to extreme lengths. Which never meant any good.  
He also wondered if they were alone. There had to be at least the old man. He had contemplated before, that maybe Eren or Armin could have changed their appearance. But Eren wouldnt make it through without blundering the whole thing. Which only left Arlert. And looking at him now, Levi was sure he could pull it off.  
The door opened again and Eren came back in, holding a tablet with three steaming cups, in his one hand, the other closing the creaking door. One of the delicate china cups was placed in front of him. The others found a place on the otherside of the table. Eren sat down in the seat next to Armin. Levi's fingers twitched. He would have pulled him next to him, but controlled himself. Whatever was going on here, he had to get to the bottom of it first.  
Levi exhaled audible. "Listen, it would be the best if you up right told me in what kind of mess you've gotten yourself into, so we can fix this. I'm not going to leave." He carefully picked up the cup in front of him. The steam wavered into his nostrils, filling them with a promise of green tea.He took a small sip. Loose leaves and the second brewing. According to the distinctive flavour it was a sencha from the Shizuoka region. He took another sip. No, probably Fukuoka. The hint of sweetness made him conclude that it was early harvested. Eren definitely hadn't forgotten his brewing skills. He took another sip, watching the grown-up men over the cup of tea. He remembered, that he had never seen them in this age. After the hell of puberty.  
Both of them had gone mute, while Levi enjoyed his tea. But where Arlert was still and resembling a Greek statue, Eren wringed his hands, a kid waiting to be scolded. "I don't get what you're both waiting for. I won't judge. Whatever it is you got yourself into, I'm here to help..... and if I can't help, I have access to other resources." He swallowed the last drop of his tea, setting the empty vessel back on the table.  
"What about we exchange information? We answer questions in turn. I start," Arlert suddenly said.  
"You already asked your question." Levi absentmindly rubbed his fingertips. "My turn. Eren, what is going on here?"  
He focused his stare on Eren. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw blondie open his mouth.  
"I asked Eren, Arlert, " he intercepted sharply.  
Eren had been staring at his intertwined tanned hands. As if he made a decision he levelled his eyes at Levi.  
"We have to handle this situation alone. Please, just stay out of it. I can't and I won't tell you what this is all about or why we act the way we do, but believe me, were just doing it to keep you safe. All of you." The care shining out of his green eyes hit Levi hard. God, did that stupid kid still think that he had to take on the burden alone and safe them all?  
"Eren, you, both of you don't have to do this alone. Just let us help you."  
Eren shook his head. He bit the inside of his cheek. "I don't want to put you into danger again, Levi. Or anyone else. You all deserve a happy life," he mumured.  
"And what the fuck do you reserve? Purgatory leftovers?" Levi couldn't keep the groan down. "Haven't you forgiven yourself yet?"  
His question was met with silence. Levi let his head fall against the couch. He pinched his nose bridge. His head felt heavy. His left hand brushed through his hair, feeling the short stubble of his undercut.  
"I'm not going to leave you alone in this. Do you really think, that's what I'm going to do, after I found you again?"  
"No, I know you won't." A sad smile appeared on Eren's face. The pain he had seen before was etched clearly now onto his face. But it seemed to be hard for Levi to concentrate on him. Darkness was waiting at the edges of his field of vision. Fuck, what was wrong with him? His eyes caught the white porcelain cup. Oh no he didn't.  
"You little shit drugged me," the unbelieving could be heard in his sharp voice. He tried to raise, but Eren was suddenly kneeling on the couch. Strong warm hands held him down.  
"I really didn't want to do this, but you left us no choice Levi. You left me no choice." Smaragd orbs searched his own for understanding. He saw the need in them to find it, but that was something he couldn't give Eren. Recognizing this, Eren closed his eyes again and took a slow breath. As he opened them again, the old fiery determination which had freed this world, shined out of them. And then he said words, Levi would have rather lost his arm instead of hearing.  
"Don't look for me." Pain broke through the on creeping darkness and numbness. He was going to leave. Prickly needles tortured his body. No.  
"No.....you.....c..an't." His tongue wasn't listening to his command anymore. But his mind was still there, fury, pain and panic keeping it awake. His hands grasped Eren's arms, willing him to stay. But he knew it was futile. Soon his body would succumb. Eren knew it too. He took one of Levi's hands and entwined it with his own. He looked down at their connection, a tiny grin displayed on his face.  
Those eyes of his seemed to have earned more intensity as they wandered back to Levi. A supernova would be jealous. "I promise to come back. I come back when this is all resolved. And if, you still want me." I've waited two lifes for the opportunity, how could I not? "Just, don't do anything dangerous. No more high-speed drives in the rain. Or in general. But most of all, be happy. I want you to be happy more than anything else." How could I be without you, you moron?  
His field of vision closed more and more in. Eren's eyes were the only beacons guiding him through the darkness. He felt finger brush his jawbone.  
"Levi,.... I . . I love you." The beautiful smile of raw pain and love shattered Levi. He tried to keep his eyes open, to move, to speak. But his strength wasused up and his eyelids dropped. The last thing he felt was the soft press of warmth on his lips and a wetness on his cheeks.


	7. At Nightfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi awakes after his drugging.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody, I'm sorry for not updating yesterday, but I was just too tired. My eyes kept falling shut, while I tried to polish this chapter.  
> Anyway, we've reached Chapter 7. I hope you'll enjoy it. Thanks for reading!

Purple light filtered through the window. Levi watched dust swirl in the flakes of light. He rubbed his face to wash the sleepiness away. His head felt fuzzy. As he frowned at the wooden ceiling, he tried to make sense of his whereabouts. He had had a dream. Sweet and painful. Eren had been in it.  
Levi,.... I . . I love you.  
He sat right up, his heart pounding, the thin blanket which had covered him, sliding of his chest. That had been no dream.  
"Eren," he whispered to the shadows.  
He wasn't here. He had left. Levi grasped his head in his hands. He felt pain accumulating in his chest, trying to suffocate him. Underneath it, betrayal and anger were hiding. He wondered for a tiny second, why everyone felt so entitled to drug him. But the worry for Eren and the feel of his loss soon pushed back these thoughts. He had to follow him.  
He looked through the window. Was that a sunset or a sunrise? How much time had passed? How far away were they already? Levi grinded his teeth. He had to hurry. The more time he wasted, the further away he got. And the less safe he was. Levi banished the thoughts of Eren getting hurt...or worse. Actions were the only things needed now, not his imagination running wild. He would find him and the next time, the idiot wouldn't get away so easily. He'd handcuff Eren to himself and throw the key away. Let's see if he'd be willing to cut of an arm.  
He pulled out his phone. "No battery, huh?" He had to look for a landline.  
He carefully picked up his crutches from the table. Standing up was hard. Standing was even harder. Levi had to concentrate to not topple over. Whatever kind of fucked up drug they'd used, it was still effective. His body felt like a marshmallow. Breathing through the dizziness, he slowly moved out to the hallway. He turned left, walking to the other end of the house. As he passed a drawer, he heard a laughter run through the building. Levi stopped. A devilish grin plastered itself on his face.  
Ignoring his weakened state, he accelerated, until he reached the end of the hallway. His head felt too light. Fuck, I overdid it, Levi thought. He leaned forward, as he tried to fight against the urge to empty his stomach. He pinched his nose hard, regulating his breathing and using the rest of his willpower, to keep his body under control. When the world felt sharper again, he straightened and regarded the wooden door on his right. Muffled voices were coming through the wood. The brass knob was cold against his sweaty palm as he turned it. Stark light flooded onto the hallway, making him cringe. The voices went silent.  
"For once im grateful, that you don't keep your fucking promises, shitty glasses," Levi said into the room.  
Hange's cackle answered him. She was perched on the table in the middle, watching over the proceedings like a Queen on her throne. His squad was scattered around the room. Jean and Annie were leaning against the right wall, while Sasha and Connie filled the space in the middle. On the left side, Mikasa was kneeling in front of Eren and Armin who were sitting on wooden chairs next to each other. An elderly man was sitting next to Armin in a third chair. Eren had turned his head like everyone else as the door opened. Levi saw bewilderment and guilt as their eyes met.  
"You're not supposed to be awake!", he exclaimed.  
"Tch." He started to move inside. Relief let him breath lighter again. Eren was still here. Not on a plane, a boat or a fucking submarine. But now that the green-eyed man was in his proximity again, Levi felt anger rise in his blood, translating to his eyes.  
He saw the tinge of hurt on Eren's face and guilt crept into his heart. Dammit, stop it. He drugged me and tried to run away. To leave me. I'm the fucking one who's supposed to be hurt.  
Nonetheless, Eren brushed past Mikasa and came over to him, ignoring Levi's cold demeanor. A muscular arm wrapped itself around Levi's waist.  
Levi gave him a cold ass stare. But Eren just looked at him defiant. "Lean on me," he told him.  
"Tch," Levi answered. But he did as he was asked to. And he damned the part, which wanted to pull Eren closer and let their bodyheat mix. I'm supposed to be angry, right?! Keep that in mind Ackermann.  
Eren led him next to Hange. A shit eating smile on her face, she watched them approach.  
"Hahaha Levi, did your lover boy drug you? He did really grow some balls." She said, slapping her thigh in amazement. Levi scowled at her, but as always she was unfazed. "Pity, that shortie here, has a high resistence against drugs. Erwin has to knock him out with horse meds, to make sure he stays put. I assume that he has a high natural tolerance and he raised it due to his numerous hospital visits. Though.....I'm not completely sure if I'm right. He doesn't let me test it . Wouldn't it be interesting to find out your boundaries Levi?" She waggled her eyebrows at him.  
Levi snorted as response and sat next to her, pushing away from Eren's warmth, flooding his body. Eren stood in front of him, trying to read him. Levi stared back at him.  
"What about Erwin?," he asked Hange, keeping his eyes on Eren.  
"Hahahaha, probably still trying to handle the chaos we produced. Operation Midget Control, was a full success. But, im fairly sure, that he's already pursuing us. Or at least trying to. We didn't leave hints. Everyone did a great job, you should have seen how Jean puked fake blood. A born actor." Hange's voice cracked, her ponytail wipping in rhythm. She clapped her hands together, the sound vibrating through the quiet room.  
Levi arched an eyebrow at Eren. Points for him not to fidget under the scrutinizing stare. "You. Start. Talking. Now."  
Eren didn't answer. His eyes were as hard as jade, as he turned around and walked back to his chair.  
"Eren, Armin just confide in us. We will help you." Mikasa told the two young men. Levi looked at her. Her hands were betraying her calm voice. She was playing with her red scarf. A clear sign to him, that her mind was in turmoil. It always soothed her to play with it. When she had been small, it had been the only thing, which had made her able to sleep. No one had known why. Besides him. He had been remembring for a long time.  
"Yeah guys, whatever it is, we can help you. Like in the old days. But without huge titans chasing our asses," Connie added.  
"Or the military police trying to kill us," Sasha added.  
"We won't let you go anyway," Annie pointed out. She had lifted her eyes from the floor, letting them collide with Armin's .  
"Ah and it's not like you could escape us anyway, right Levi?" Hange laughed.  
"No, you won't." Levi watched the brunette man. He could see the pressure of the words weighing down on him. Just a little bit more, Levi thought.  
"Or maybe you don't trust us enough? Maybe you think we're uncapable of helping you?"  
Eren's head shot up. His hot gaze fixed on Levi. Anger flowed between their connection, Eren's red hot one and Levi's blue cold one.  
"We're trying to keep you guys out of this! We're trying to keep you safe!" the green eyed fury told him.  
"Eren, stop." Armin hissed.  
"Maybe we don't need to be kept safe? We are perfectly able to look after ourselves." Levi answered.  
"Oh really? I wouldn't think so. I remember a certain someone chasing after death just two months ago."  
Levi's squinted his eyes at him. "Well, I remember a certain someone taking every opportunity to sacrifice his life without ever thinking about himself."  
Eren rose. "I remember a certain someone taking every risk inside or outside the walls no matter the danger for his own life."  
"Still, better than you trying to carry the fucking burden of humanities hope alone and treating yourself like worthless shit."  
"It was my duty to do everything I could to end the war!"  
"And it was mine to make sure you moron got to do it!"  
"I never asked you to die for me!"  
"I'd do it again, without a single thought!"  
"That's why I don't want you to have any fucking part in this!"  
"I'm going to do whatever the fuck I think is right!"  
"You don't care at all about my wishes!" Eren yelled.  
"Woah, lover's quarrel." Hange intercepted. They both breathed heavily. It had escalated so quickly. And Eren was wrong, he thought. Eren's wishes and feelings had been always his second priority. His first had always been his safety and well-being, battling with Levi's actual duty: saving humanity. How often had he wanted to keep him out of the war? How often had he worried about the strain on the young man's body due to the titan transformation? How often had he promised himself, that he'd do everything in his power to make Eren's dreams come true?  
He watched Eren's gaze turn to his clenched hands, his bangs falling into his eyes, hiding their expression. But Levi could see him biting his lips painfully. Fuck, he was close to crying. Regret screamed at his concious.  
"Eren...", he started, but Eren stopped him.  
"I just don't want you to die for me again. Do you know how...," His voice broke. Levi watched him swallow and take a deep, shaking breath. "I don't want anyone of you to get involved in this. We understand that you want to help us, that's why we were arranging to leave, to let you guys just live your lifes. You already have a lifetime of fights behind you. This is our second chance. Just take it. Believe me, we want to stay and we will come back as soon as this matter is resolved. Until then, please live your lifes," he told the group with an even voice.  
"And what about you? What about your second chance?" Mikasa asked.  
Eren picked his gaze up. "It's the hand we were dealt. We're going to see this through to the end."  
Levi crossed his arms. "I won't let you go through this alone."  
"I don't want you involved in this Levi. Don't you care about my feelings?"  
Don't ask me to let you take this danger on alone. How am I supposed to live as if nothing happened, while you're out there somewhere, fighting again, he thought. "I'd rather butt into your business and make sure you're safe, than have to worry about you the whole time. Even....if you end up hating me for it." The honesty in his words felt painful as they left his throat. He saw the impact of his words on Eren's face, how the rigid line around his mouth softened. Oh, fuck it, I'm just going to say it "Eren, I l...."  
"I think, we should just tell them." A bodyless voice startled them. All of them. "I don't think it makes sense to prolong this. They won't keep out of it. Corporal is as determined as a bull seeing red and with Hange at his side and the others backing them up, they'd be faster at our heels than we can change locations. Besides, I'm getting claustrophobic down here." Levi's eyes wandered with everyone else to the parquet floor. The voice came from beneath it.


	8. Come Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bodyless voice floated into the room. Who does it belong to? And will it reveal to Levi and his companions finally what it is Eren and Armin are trying to hide?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I hope you've found your way back! Welcome to chapter 8.  
> It's been a long time, since I've updated. A veeeeery long time. I hope there are still people willing to read this?  
> There are reasons for the break, but I don't wanna bore you.  
> This chapter is a lengthy one and I'll hope you'll enjoy it. It's a revelation chapter and I seriously hope, you're not gonna be disappointed aka slap my face....I also hope no one had this idea before me...  
> Well, thanks for reading. Let us begin.....

Armin groaned next to him, his head meeting his palms. Another groan floated up from beneath the wooden floor. Ymir. There went their plan. Eren let out a sigh and eyed the Uninitiated ones. Sasha and Connie stared at the wooden planks, they’re eyes pondering if the house could speak. Annie’s, Mikasa’s and Levi's expression was stoic, the glint in their eyes the only sign of surprise. His favorite scientist rubbed her hands together like a child sitting in excitement before the Christmas tree, ready to unpack the presents. The perpetual frown had left Jean's face. Instead, Eren could see hope shining of it. Remorse tightened his heart. There was no way to avoid this anymore.  
They had missed their last exit sign, he thought. Next stop: Reveal Ville.  
As he rose, the chair creaked beneath him. He moved over to the wall next to the entrance. His body felt stiff from the tension. Laying his hand on the smooth surface, he pushed upwards. An audible gasp sounded behind him, as the small piece of wall slid up. Connie's exclaimed "Wtf?!?" made him flash a grin. The revealed interface asked for his bio metric stats. He leaned forward, waiting for the eye scan. A sharp beep followed. The screen changed as it acknowledged his identity. A new window appeared, asking for the password. He typed it in. The floor shook beneath Mikasa, Sasha and Connie. They jumped back just in time as a rectangular piece of wood lowered itself and opened up in the middle, the separated parts shifting to opposite sites to reveal the room underneath. There, a tall tanned woman was whispering with a petite blonde, a look of anger on her face. Joyful cries of Ymir's and Historia's names exploded. But then the silence rolled back like a wave nearing the coast, as the attention shifted to the objects around their necks.  
Gasmasks.  
"You we’re going to smoke us out?!" The sound of accusation and hurt had found its way into Levi’s usually controlled voice. Eren’s eyes flicked to him, though he couldn’t meet the others eyes. He detected however the stiffness in his jaw, before he lowered his eyes again. Months of observation had taught Eren this tell-tale sign: barely contained fury.  
"Woah Levi, those kids sure learned a lot from us. Hahahaha, this is so to my liking!" Hange's laugh ringed through the room. Levi shot her an annoyed look.  
"Wouldn't the gas have affected you as well?" Sasha quietly asked. Eren pressed his lips together and looked at Armin. It didn't really matter anymore, but he still felt bad for moving on his own. They were a team after all. Armin had leaned back in his chair and watched the heated whispercussion between Ymir and Historia. The later one abruptly turned around, facing the group and answered instead:  
"We have gradually worked on a resistance against it. One of many precautions. There are also gas masks hidden in the room. They would have had enough time to take them out." Historia shot Armin a furious look. "But as I said before, this is a madman's path. Armin, they would have tried to find us. Don't you think that Hange would be right on our heels? If it's about secrets she's like a fighting dog. Once she's bitten into prey, she doesn't let go."  
"Uuuuuuuh, I really like the comparison with a fighting dog! Maybe a Boer Boel!" Hange exclaimed, clapping her hands together dreamily.  
"And if they'd have followed us, without knowing what they got themselves into, they would have gotten between the fronts." Historia shot them a stern look. "That's exactly the opposite of what we're trying to achieve."  
"We have other means to make them forget." Armin told her, his blue eyes clashing with Historia's.  
She frowned. "You really would have tried your experimental drug on them? You don't even know the correct dose for everyone!" Historia shook her head. "Too high and they'd lose too many memories, too low and they'd still remember."  
"We've been working on it." Eren told her.  
"And you would have really tried that on them? On the corporal?" Eren glanced at Levi. There was no way of avoiding his eyes this time, for fury had found a home in his mercury orbs, burning into him. Back then, all of this had seemed like the best option, but now Eren questioned if he had maybe destroyed the strings attaching him to Levi. For Levi, trust had always been the most important matter and he was sure that his traitorous acts didn't bode well with him.  
Eren swallowed. His mouth felt dry. The consuming heat of shame was burned into his cheeks.  
"I'm going to tell them, right now. You guys," and here she looked pointedly at Ymir, "have just to acknowledge that this is the only possible way."  
With this, she started to climb out of the hole. Sasha extended her hand in help, which Historia took with a bright smile. As they stood in front of each other, Sasha suddenly hugged her. A flash of jealousy appeared on Ymir's face. Eren heard a "I'm happy to see you". Connie executed a stealthy attack hug and crushed both of them against his body, making Historia and Sasha giggle.  
"You should have held her back." Armin chided Ymir in the midst of euphoria.  
"And how exactly should I have done that? You want me to knock out my girlfriend?" Ymir crossed her arms behind her head. She watched as the petite gave Jean a friendly hug. "If she sets her mind on something, not even an army can hold her back. Your plan wasn't the genius masterpiece anyway."  
"Yeah, it's over Armin." Eren looked at his friend. Worry and fear were playing catch on his face. Eren understood. He felt the same way. Armin sighed loudly and crossed his arms in defeat, watching with Eren and Ymir the reunion parade.  
Historia walked slowly over to Annie, entwining their hands and smiled. Annie smiled reluctantly back at her. Eren imagined it for her to be hard, in regards to her role in the past.  
Sprinting past her, Historia came to a stand before Levi. "Corporal," she said smiling.  
"My Queen," he answered, adding a little half-bow. Her smile grew wider and without further ado she hugged him. Levi was startled at first, but recovered fast, ruffling Historia's blond locks in return. She let go and let the force of her smile collide with Hange's gleeful one, who pulled her in for a tight hug of her own. At last Historia turned to Mikasa. Both women exchanged silent nods.  
"I guess we can start now." Her tone gave no chance for discussions. Eren returned to his seat. "This is going to take some time, so just make yourselves comfortable," he said into the room. With a last look at them, Mikasa walked over to Levi and sat down on his right side. He patted her shoulder. Eren threw a surprised look at Armin. The world must come to an end if those two actually got along.  
"Historia you want to go first or should I?" Eren asked, trying to concentrate on the task at hand. She was right, he thought. There was no way back.  
She considered his inquiry. "I guess I start and then you take over?" Eren nodded.  
"Before I begin, I ask you to just listen to what we have to say. Please ask your questions at the end. This is going to be hard enough as it is." Historia took a deep breath.  
"The ones we’re fighting, is an organization with its main focus on modern warfare and security. It is funded by criminal cartels all over the world and by powerful investors from the economical, scientific and political sector. The organization has a fake name and a fake leader, but we call them Reformists. And the ones really pulling the strings.....is the Reiss family." Stunned silence met her statement. Historia continued.  
"My....father, Rod Reiss founded it together with Eren's Dad, back in their university days, though its purpose has changed from back then." She looked at him and Eren saw the resolve in her hard eyes. He knew what would come next.  
"Rod wants to bring back the Titans. They call it the “Second wave’." She let her words drift out of her mouth, like smoke mixing with air, suffocating the group with this announcement. Pale faces were staring at Historia, waiting, for her to tell them, she'd made a bad joke. All of a sudden, a hysteric laughter broke the silence. Annie clasped her hand against her mouth, trying to hold it in, but her body was shaking, letting out the unbelief. The horror. Mikasa moved within a second and gently pulled the woman close, whose laughter had transformed to sobs. Eren watched them in worry.  
Hange raised a hand, every look of delight washed away and exchanged with a different expression, one that Eren remembered well enough from late night strategic meetings and troop discussions. The second commander of the survey corps had returned.  
"Please, just wait a little bit longer." Hange slowly let her hand drop. Next to her, Humanities Strongest crossed his arms, his body tense as a spring.  
"Rod owns a partial memory of his former life. He came to the conclusion that the world how it is now, is wrong and needs to be purged and rebuild. With the help of the Titans. Which of course, is complete and utter bullshit." Anger vibrated in her voice. "He convinced a large part of the Reiss family, using their money and connections to infiltrate companies, humanitarian organisations and governments like cancer, for one purpose alone. Regain the lost power and glory. “ Historia paused.  
“For a long time, I had no part in this. My parents didn't live together. He visited us, but never really interacted with me. Back then, I was just a child waiting for her dad to finally recognize her. Now I wish he'd never had. And I'm certain that his visits weren't related to any fatherly feelings, but rather observations. A lab rat kept secure, to see if she regains her memories. When the first one came back, I was 11. I remembered the hand-to-hand combat training with Ymir. He was there during the time and I remember the glow in his eyes, when I told him about this weird daydream I had. That night, he came to my room, to tell me a story. But I got no story, instead he plunged an injection needle into my arm. Whatever the needle was filled with, I had an epileptic shock. I can't remember anything after that. Just the pain.  
I woke up in a hospital bed, my mom holding my hand. Two months had passed. She'd almost lost hope for me to reawaken out of the coma. Mom and I left our old life behind us and went into hiding. The...the last time I saw her, was when I was fourteen. She kicked me out of our small house outside of Uppsala, while she held back our pursuers. I escaped on a snowmobile, with the sound of gunshots hanging in the morning sky." Historia swallowed. Ymir had climbed out of the hidden room during her girlfriends explanations. Now she hugged the smaller woman from behind, burrowing her face in the blonde's hair. The sadness on Historia's face was palpable, her delicate hands holding on to Ymir's arms. She took a fresh breath. "I then moved through Europe, never stayed long at a place. All the cities are a blur. Stockholm, Copenhagen, Bremen, Cologne, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, I never stayed anywhere long. Living off the street and well, not so legal stuff. I'm quite good at pick pocketing," she snickered "and I found out, I have a knack for mechanical stuff. My next encounter with the Reformists was in Nice when I was 17. I thought that I was done for. They shot me with a sting gun and I could just watch them as they moved in on me. Next thing I knew, these guys started to fall down and I heard loud snaps, as if wood was breaking and screams echoing through the warehouse. This woman here," Historia turned her head sideways and let one hand caress Ymir's hair, "saved me again. It seems to be her hobby." She smiled. "She took me in and we left Nice for Fez. Where we met up with Reiner and Berthold." Their names raised whispered questions, but Historia continued unabashed.  
"We became part of a caravan to hide our footsteps. For the next year we were wandering around, gathering information. That's how we also found out about Eren's group." She nodded at them. "And we met up in Dakar."  
Eren felt the transition.  
"I first remembered, when I was 6," he told the group. "Though I wish, that it had been something from our training days. I remembered the night my Dad infected me with the titan serum." He intertwined his hands, avoiding the looks of pity he’d surely find on the others faces.  
"It was part of a nightmare and I woke the house with my screams. My parents came running. Through my sobs, I told them about my dream while my Mom held me in her arms. The next day my Dad called me into his study. And he....interrogated me. That's the best description. He wanted to know every little detail. And we went over it, again and again. When he was finally satisfied, he looked at me and told me: "My boy, I'm so very sorry." I didn't understand it back then and even now I'm not sure, what he apologized for. Which sins were it he wanted to be absolved off?" Eren rubbed his forehead, old pain finding its way to the surface. He had derailed his explanations. He coughed slightly.  
"I wasn't supposed to talk with anyone about it, but...yeah I didn't keep to that. I triggered Armin's first memory." He looked at the blonde, who just shrugged.  
"Things changed after that. Dad made us receive excessive training. We got home schooled anyway with our families never staying long at one place. But now we had Decoding 101 next to Calculus; Krav Maga and Jiu Jitsu substituted PE. Not something a public school covered. My Dad taught us all he knew about his theories of reincarnation and our special connections to each other. And one day his theory was about to be proven. When I was 8, my Dad announced that our family would expand. Mom and he had adopted a young boy whose family had died in a car accident. Dad also told me, that he was one of the remembering reincarnates, but struggling as he had remembered his death first. He advised me to be nice to him, to try to become friends and make him feel at home. But as I saw him, there was no need to do that. He already was part of my family. It was Marco." Jean stepped towards Eren.  
"And where is he now Jaeger? Is he also hiding somewhere? Maybe behind the bookcase in the secret cellar?" Eren recognized the frustration in Jean's voice.  
"Let me explain one after another, Kirschtein." He couldn't keep the annoyance out of his voice, even though the other didn't deserve it. A lifetime of rivalry wasn't so easy to shake off. "Our parents left us in the dark for a long time from whom we were hiding, but when we were twelve they revealed a part of it. Of Dad being the founder of a research group. Of his best friend Rod Reiss. Of their purpose of connecting unused brain cells with deja vus and the theory of reincarnation. He called those cells eternity cells. My dad was a neurologist and Rod had studied genetics. Two revolutionaries on their way to reform everything the world thought to know. That's how they saw each other anyway. In the beginning they still had the same focus. Armin's dad joined the group as a pharmacologist and my mom as a psychiatrist. And they used themselves as test subjects. Breakthroughs were celebrated. The sight of a city. The walls looming in the background. Interacting familiar with strangers. My Dad's memories were mainly of his research. For Reiss it was a different story. He saw a former life in which he acted as the true king, the man in the shadows. He had power in his grasp, only to get it ripped out of his hands when he slipped back. Dad told us, that he didn't realize it back then, being too involved with his own memories and the research on the eternity cells, but Rod's pushing for finding an investor for their project, was the start of his best friend turning away from the original goal. The change from a research group to a small company happened fast and after the discovery of the Titans, the ultimate weapon, they got funded by the U.S. government.  
Everything changed the day I was born. My Dad had glimpsed his former life's family before, but they had never been his interest and he had ignored them. But the day I opened my eyes, the puzzle pieces fit together. He realized that I was his son, the son reborn to him for a second time. And looking at my Mom, he remembered that she was his last life's love. He remembered that he had injected me with the serum and why he had done it and that with the re-establishing of the titans, the world would relive the horror again. He argued with Reiss, but he was too corrupted by power to listen to him. So Dad tried to use his power as founder, but Rod had obtained everything while he had been indulged in his theories and scientific explorations. So he saw no other way out, then burning everything down. He took us and together with Armin's family they escaped. But they always knew that they hadn’t seen the last of Rod Reiss. And they were proven right. The attack happened on a night in December. Back when we were thirteen. A black van pushed our camper van from a mountain street."  
Eren stopped. Too vivid were the pictures in his head. The screech of the brakes, the smell of burning gum and a world shifting out of place. The moans of everyone inside, the pain in his arm and his hand searching for the soft one of his mom, who had sat next to him. How his dad had yanked him up and pushed him, Armin and Marco out into the cold snow. The shotgun in his hands had gleamed in the moonlight. How Eren had tried to get back inside, to help his mom, but he just got pushed back, with enough force to make him stumble and let his ass collide with the white carpet. Tears had been rolling down not only on his face, but all of theirs. He had pleaded with his Dad, but the bespectacled man had ignored him, giving instructions to them instead. Fingernails digged deep into Eren's palms. He wished he could have seen her one more time. He wasn't even sure, if she had survived the accident. Armin's mom had thrown them backpacks with supplies and pushed Grandfather towards them, who was as willing to leave as they were. He thought he had seen tears in her eyes, but her military education took over and she ordered them away. Armin had called for her to let them stay, but she had none of it. And then they had heard trees cracking and the sound of an engine. "Run" she had hissed at them. And they did. They ran and ran and ran. Trees passing them. For all Eren had known back then it could have been the same ones over and over again.  
"We escaped. And Grandfather took care of us from then on." Armin's gentle voice said. Eren got ripped out of his memory. Damn, he dazed out. Again. He looked apologetically at Armin. He gave him a nod and continued. "The Reformists staged it, that it looked like an accident. The newspaper proclaimed everybody died. To the world we're no longer alive. They probably thought, that this would make us give up or hinder us, but we've been prepared for that our whole life. To continue the fight on our own.” Determination vibrated in Armin's voice.  
“We had Grisha's laptop and excess to our parents sources and resources. We connected with groups like ours. We found Historia's group through a puzzle website Berthold had designed. And yes, there are other groups working against Reiss," Armin answered Hange's rising hand. The blonde threw him a questioning look. Eren knew what he was asking for, so he nodded.  
"Until 1 ½ year ago we all lived together in Johannesburg. Training, gathering information, using Intel was part of our daily life. We thought we were prepared to what was to come, but when they hit us, they hit us hard. They used fake information to separate us and then pick us one by one. I . . . . thought, that this was our chance, to find out more than we ever could find out by using ants. This were the big shots. So I gambled . . . . and I lost. It is my fault, that they captured my brother. I'm sorry Jean." Eren raised his eyes at Jean and saw for a split second pain in his eyes, before he camouflaged it other with an empty look. Jean shrugged and leaned back against the wall.  
Eren rubbed his temple. If he could turn back time, he'd slap his foolish younger self out of it. But he couldn't. He couldn't bring Marco back.  
"Since then, we've increased our efforts. Reiner and Bertholdt are on a gathering and exchanging mission. They met up with....”"SHAKE THAT ASS FOR ME, SHAKE THAT ASS FOR ME..." a loud ringtone interrupted Armin, making everyone flinch.  
Levi rolled his eyes. "Shitty glasses, you still haven't changed your fucking gross ringtone?!"  
"My husband has a very fine ass, shortie. This is the perfect song to celebrate it." Hange told him smiling.  
"Did you disconnect the disturb signal?"Armin whispered in shock to Ymir.  
"No," she simply stated her mouth hanging slightly open.  
"Hello hubby! How is my ruggedly handsome lover today?" Hange asked into the phone. Levi gagged.  
"Are they newlywed?" Eren asked. He thought it was cute. And something he'd like to have for himself.  
"They've been married since they were eighteen, right after the fucking graduation. Although it saved money, I have to give her that. Would have never thought she'd think about a goddamn budget. But they've been together for even longer. Since they've been twelve. I've had to listen to this over the half of my fucking lifetime." He said the last bit louder, but as so often, Hange chose to ignore him.  
"Are the sweeties alright? Ah that's good to hear. Did you already put them to bed? No you didn’t? But why...? You wanted to warn me? Wh... Oh. OH. MIKE YOU TRAITOR!!!" Hange abruptly disconnected.  
"Levi we're in deep shit." She said in a grave voice.  
Levi’s eyes widened. "Don't you fucking tell me...?”  
Loud noises in the hallway made everyone turn their heads. Eren thought a bull was charging towards their door. It got ripped open and smashed against the wall.  
In the door frame, a Nordic god towered. Anger flowing of him like steam out of an erupting geyser.  
"LEVI!" he screamed, his booming voice making Eren's bones shake. Or at least he imagined that. He glanced at Levi and was once again impressed by his unmoved face. To look into the eyes of a deranged bull without batting an eyelash had to be a life achievement for every actor.  
"YOU FUCKING NITWIT! Escaping out of the hospital. Leaving against my advice. Wreaking havoc on MY HOSPITAL. There is NO punishment suitable enough for you. I will chain you to your bed until you forget how to spell DETERGENT."  
"Well Erwin, I'm willing to help you with your fantasy; after you meet my hallucination." Levi swayed elegantly his arm towards Eren, a smirk tugging at his lips.  
"What the goddamn fuck do you mean with after, you sonovabitch..." Erwin said as his eyes followed Levi's arm. Silence struck him. He only seemed to remember his capability of speech to mumble their names.  
"Eren, Armin."  
His blue eyes sobered and slid back to Levi, who just arched an eyebrow as if to say:  
"Now who's the sonovabitch?"

**Author's Note:**

> Hapuuu, so this is it. Thoughts? Leave me a message, if you like. I'll take love and hate, life's got to be balanced.
> 
> Til the next chapter. And remember: be excellent to each other.


End file.
